Page 89 of Dirty Filthy Boy
"You never dated her?"
"No. I was too busy with football and school. I was one of those rarities in college. A player who studied and attended classes."
"You were?"
"Yes. Sure football was important, but I knew enough about the sport to know that one day, I'd need more than that. I make a lot of money, MacKenna. An investment firm manages it for me. By the time I'm thirty, I should be set for life."
"Is that when you plan to retire?"
"If I don't get injured before then. Or if my arm gives out."
"The night of the party—"
"I never saw her. I swear to you I'm telling the truth."
"Where were you?"
I take a deep breath, let it out. "Upstairs in my room with two girls."
"Girls?"
"Women. Two women. A junior and a senior, definitely older than me."
"I guess I don't have to ask you what you were doing."
"Getting drunk and having sex. They both vouched for me when the police questioned my whereabouts."
"How old were you?"
"Eighteen."
"Did you know Emily was coming to the party."
"No. If I had, I would have told her to stay away."
"Why?"
"We came from a very small town in Texas. She was pretty naive. So was I for that matter. I learned fast. She . . . didn't. When I found out the next morning, I felt responsible. Even though I had no idea she was coming, I should have known."
"Why?"
"She was dating somebody in the frat house. She kept mentioning it. But when I asked her his name, she wouldn't tell me. I thought it was just Emily trying to make me jealous or something."
"Did you ever find out?"
"No. I never did. Whenever I tried to talk to her about that night, she’d end up crying. She went to counseling for a while, but her grades suffered that semester, and then she stopped going to classes altogether."
"Did you know she was pregnant?"
"God, no. If I had, I would have—I don't know, done something."
"Like what?"
"I don't know. Told her I'd be there for her. If she needed me. But she never gave me the chance."
"I'm flying to Texas to talk to her mom. Once I do that, I'll write your story."
"Good. Mrs. Suarez is a nice sort. You can count on her to tell you the truth."
"What is the truth, Ty?"
"That I liked her daughter as a friend, that Emily followed me to Nebraska State because she had a crush on me, that she came to the party and was raped. And that I had nothing to do with it. I swear on my mother's grave. You believe me, don't you?"
